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Help floods in after massive blaze engulfs Fort McMurray

As 83,000 people fled their Fort McMurray homes Tuesday, the Red Cross, private companies and municipalities were already pitching in to deal with the massive wildfire and its aftermath.

Eighteen firefighters, two mechanics, four fire trucks and a transit bus carrying extra equipment and air canisters left Edmonton for Fort McMurray at 8 p.m., after the province put out a call for help.

Edmonton fire Chief Ken Block said his crews were told to bring enough personal gear to stay for three days. More crews might be sent if needed. With Highway 63 closed, the convoy will take Highway 881. The hope is to arrive by 3:30 a.m. Wednesday.

“Our staff is not being sent there to fight the forest fire. We are structural firefighters, that’s our specialty. We’ll be going there to support Fort McMurray firefighters,” Block said.

By early Tuesday evening, the Red Cross had launched an Alberta appeal and an open source Facebook page was set up where people could post offers of help for evacuees.

Oilsands work camps were pressed into service Tuesday to house evacuees and the City of Edmonton activated its emergency operations centre, ready to open a reception centre at Northlands if needed.

Most oilsands projects are well north of Fort McMurray.

“We’ve made our work camp available to staff and their families who have been evacuated and need a place to stay,” said Cameron Yost of Shell Canada.

Shell’s camp, about 95 kilometres north of Fort McMurray, can accommodate hundreds of evacuees. It remained operating late Tuesday, but precautions were being taken.

“We are looking at getting non-essential people out by aircraft,” Yost said.

Suncor spokesman Paul Newmarch said company officials were also evacuating non-essential staff at that company’s base plant, 30 kilometres from Fort McMurray, with evacuees moving into the plant’s work camps.

“We’re providing transportation and accommodation to the region to support the evacuation,” he said. “We’re making whatever we have available to support the evacuation.”

Newmarch said essential workers remained at the plant. Production was continuing as of late Tuesday afternoon.

Will Gibson, a spokesman for Syncrude, which has a plant about 35 kilometres north of town, was himself one of the evacuees heading north away from the flames.

“People are actually being evacuated toward the plants,” he said. “We’re being instructed to go to work camps in the region and report in there. We’re assuming it will be more than a night.”

Gibson said he had to flee his neighbourhood via a grass embankment because the fire had already cut off the road at both ends.

“I left my neighbourhood and there were houses on fire,” he said. “I don’t know if and when I’ll be going back.”

With files from Canadian Press, Elise Stolte and Emma Graney

Facts, figures and statistics about Alberta wildfires over the last 10 years.

How many hectares have been involved in wildfires?

• 2.1 million hectares were burned in total during the last 10 years

• The largest area burned in a single year was 792,173 hectares, in the 2011-12 fire season. This was the year of the Slave Lake fire. The second largest area was 492,540, burned in 2015-16.

• The smallest area burned in a single year was 19,576, burned in 2013-14.

How much money has been spent?

• Over the past 10 years, a total of $4.7 billion has been spent by the Alberta government to fight wildfires.

• The most spent in a single year was $484.8 million, in 2015-16. The second-most spent was by $353 million in 2012-13.

• The smallest amount spent in a single year was $203 million in 2010-11.

How many fires does all of that equal?

• In total over the past 10 years, there have been 15,807 wildfires.

• These range from 1,139 wildfires in 2011-12, to 1,954 wildfires in 2006-07.